There’s no denying that British developer Rare has fallen from grace since it was acquired by Microsoft in 2002. Some would say that the quality of Rare’s games have suffered, but Rare believes it’s a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the Xbox demographic not interested in its latest offerings. Fortunately, Project Natal will fix everything, because motion control is the FUTURE OF ALL THINGS!
“I do feel in many ways that — and I’ve said this to some people as well — for me this is really the first time that Microsoft and Rare are on a very similar path,” offers design director George Andreas. “We’ve obviously been tasked to create experiences that nobody else can create, which explains things like your Kameos and your Piñatas and your Banjos. But obviously the hardware is aimed at a different demographic, and so we’ve always battled against that.
“Whereas now with Natal, it looks like the roads are on the same path. It’s a union of the two philosophies of the different companies, I guess. Natal is supposed to reach out to a broader audience and a broader consumer, and Rare’s products are always aiming in that direction as well. So from that perspective the future looks incredibly bright for us really. It’s definitely something everyone’s enthused about and energized about.”
I’m really worried about people who think that Project Natal is the answer to all their problems. Okay, so motion control worked for Nintendo, but that’s mainly because Nintendo got in first. Microsoft trying to follow Nintendo is no guarantee that a wider, more mainstream audience will come. Maybe it will, but there are a lot of eggs being counted before they hatch.
